James Henderson had also been kept busy. He spent the morning speaking with clients over the phone or going over housing contracts which had kept him away from the kitchen.
When I got back to the foyer after the morning coffee run, leaving James’s by his door, I found Mom and another colleague watching the news on the wall-mounted TV. I didn't think anything of it as I sat down at my computer and ripped open my mini packet of Oreos.
"Here it is. This is what I was talking about," Helen said as she turned up the volume on the TV.
"Police are investigating the death of 29-year-old Bay Ridge man, Marcus Woods, who went missing during the early hours of Sunday morning from his apartment..."
My head snapped up at the mention of his name. I stared in shock as I watched the reporter standing on the front lawn of my apartment block.
"That's Lily's apartment— Lily, that's your apartment. Did you know about this?" Mom said as she flicked her head from looking at the screen, then at me, then back to the screen. She slapped a hand over her mouth as the story unfolded.
Meanwhile, I was having heart palpitations after quietly choking on an Oreo crumb I had sharply inhaled.
"...At five o’clock this morning, his remains were discovered in a burnt-out car..." An aerial view of a very charred car played on screen as the reporter spoke. The car was smoldering while police and a forensic team investigated the area around it. "...Police are looking for any possible witnesses and are treating his death as suspicious."
I swallowed nervously, staring at the TV as the weather report flashed across the screen. Dean was one of the last people to have seen Marcus alive. While he didn't kill him, there was a strong possibility he knew about how Marcus's body turned up in a burnt-out car.
And I was a credible witness.
"I can't believe that," Mom said, her hand still over her mouth as she shook her head in disbelief. "I wonder if Susan knows anything."
I was surprised Susan hadn't called her yet.
"That kind of thing is way too close for comfort for me," Helen said.
"This is why I preferred she was still home,” Mom referred to me as she began leaving with Helen. Never mind actually talking to me about it. Not that I wanted her to. “You never know who's living in those shared apartment blocks.”
When their continued chatter faded into the hallway, I let out a shaky breath. Pulling my hands through my hair and resting my elbows on the desk as I stared down at my knees.
"Rough night?" The voice didn't just startle me but made my skin crawl as I quickly sat up straight.
James was standing behind me, leaning against the filing cabinet as he watched me with a little smirk on his face. His eyes dropped to my legs.
I shouldn’t have worn a skirt.
I smiled politely and tucked my legs aside. "Something like that— Did you need anything?"
"Yes." He approached the desk and took a seat in Candice's chair. "I need help finding a property file."
"No worries. Do you have the name? I could search for it here and send it through to you?" I turned to my computer screen, accessing our property files folder and emails, readying my fingers on the keyboard while ignoring the fact he had wheeled himself closer. I wanted to get this done as fast as possible.
"We can do it together. It should be under the surname Scarlett," he said, leaning closer to look at the screen. His tie fell across my arm, but I focused on searching the documents. I shifted uncomfortably in my seat, feeling suffocated by his closeness as he pointed to the screen.
"There it is. I need it printed," he smiled as he dropped his hand again. His fingertips brushed over my leg before he left his hand to rest on my thigh. I shuddered, trying to avoid looking at his hand being there, hidden from view under the desk as he slipped his fingertips under the hem of my skirt.
The voice in my head was screaming, but I sat still, holding my breath as I clicked print. It gave me an excuse to move, and I did. I shot to my feet in a way that made him back off before I went to the printer. I had my back to him as I impatiently tapped my finger on the machine. Aware his eyes were on me. His chair creaked as he turned to watch. Once the printing was done, I gathered the papers, stapled them together, and turned around to find James standing right behind me. The corner of his mouth curved as he raised his eyes to my face.
"All done," I breathed before shoving the papers toward him.
He took his time to flick through them, checking everything was there, and then smiled again as he left. "Always a pleasure, Lily.”
I stood frozen by the printer for a long time after he had gone.
It was getting worse.
He started this several months ago, after spending the past four years just watching me with his beady eyes. I didn't know what changed, but he was more brazen with the touching. Starting with a pat on the shoulder and leaving his hand to linger there, or making the excuse of tucking in my shirt tag. I hated that he felt so comfortable doing it. And I hated myself for not standing up to him. There were many times when I wanted to or imagined how I could, but in those moments, my body always locked up. What was even more frustrating was it was my word against his. There was never anyone around when he did stuff like that.
The front door swung open as a client walked in. Before they arrived at the desk, I quickly wiped my eyes, took a deep breath, and plastered a welcoming smile on my face.
